Killing Me Softly
by ReeMaria
Summary: Fate pushes Jango Fett and Zam together yet again...


Killing Me Softly  
  
Author: Zam-R (I'm posting it for her)  
  
Rated: PG-13 (just in case)  
  
It all started when a Dantari named Temal O'Rorlik put a bounty out on a woman by the name of Shik Lemant, whom O'Rorlik had hired into his corporation as an accountant, but instead she ended up robbing the company vault. Lemant took a huge chunk of O'Rorliks fortune he kept looked away, so in turn he put a bounty on his former employee to try to get his money back.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars, and am making no money off of this. I do it for the love of the Star Wars universe! :)  
  
Note: I wasn't sure where in the galaxy Kamino was, so I picked Barabi as a planet close to it. :P Oh, and PLEASE review!!! This is my first fic of this sort!  
  
Jango Fett was one who preferred going after more difficult jobs, but the pay was too good to pass up on this particular case. So Jango, leaving his son Boba back on Kamino left to gather information to track down the accountant thief. After trying several leads, he discovered that LeMant was last seen on the planet of Barabi.  
  
It had taken some doing, but Jango had tracked down LeMant. She was living in a small apartment building in what was referred to as the 'bad' sector of the capital.  
  
When Jango arrived at the door of the apartment last known to house Lemant, he knocked on the door. No need to knock the door down if he wasn't sure she was still living there. A tall man with well-defined muscles answered the door. "Whaddya want?" he growled. His dark hair looked filthy and he appeared to have a few days worth of growth on his face. He held a bottle of Correlian whiskey in one hand and the door in the other. The man was only clothed in a pair of pants and boots.  
  
"I'm looking for a woman of the name Lemant. Know her?" Jango asked.  
  
"Who's asking?" the man demanded.  
  
Jango calmly pulled a blaster from its holster and aimed it at the man in the doorway. "I am."  
  
Then the slightly baffoninsh looking manmade a surprisingly fast move and pulled a DH-17 blaster pistol from, what Jango guessed, his back pocket and leveled it with him.  
  
They held each other at gunpoint, glaring at one another, though Jango's eyes couldn't be seen through his helmet.  
  
"Who's at the door Jatif honey?" a woman's voice asked from behind the man.  
  
"Shik Lemant?" Jango asked.  
  
"Yes?" the not very bright woman said, confirming her identity. Jatif tried to take Jango's legs out from under him, with one of his own, but Jango easily sidestepped him, sending the bafoon sprawling on the floor.  
  
"I'm impressed. You actually beat me to the bounty first for a change." A familiar sarcastic voice said from behind Jango.  
  
He made the error of spinning around to aim his blaster at the intruder. Jatif recovered from his spill quickly and succeeded in his second attempt at bringing Jango Fett down.  
  
Zam Wesell drew her blaster and easily took care of the nuisance of a man.  
  
"Jatif!" Shik cried, falling to her knees beside her boyfriend.  
  
Jango got back on his feet and looked to the other bounty hunter. "What are you doing here?" he demanded in his low voice.  
  
"Same as you Jango. A job's a job." She raised her eyebrow at him with a smirk.  
  
Shik however, wasn't as distressed over the loss of her boyfriend as she let on, suddenly she took the blaster Jatif had been holding and took aim.  
  
A shot went off and Zam crumbled to the floor.  
  
Shik shot several blasts at Jango, one missing, the others he avoided. Then between her careless shots, he took aim and shot her left arm, the one she held the blaster with. Letting out a cry, Shik clutched her would and dropped the blaster.  
  
Jango turned from the shrieking woman to the other bounty hunter. "Zam?" he knelt down, checking the wound on her stomach. Zam's eyes were closed, but he saw she was still breathing.  
  
First thing was first, he'd get them to the Slave 1, and deliver Shik to his employer and get his pay then he'd take care of Zam Wesell.  
  
*****  
  
The reward for Shik LeMant had been high, giving Jango a satisfied feeling. The whole thing had been sloppy he admitted, but the end result was what mattered. But a part of him wondered how worth it had been as he carried Zam into his place.  
  
*****  
  
//Oww..Pain. Something hurts. Don't want to open my eyes. Maybe it's just a dream, and if I do, it'll go away. // Slowly she opened her eyes, then groaned because the pain had not gone away. "Oww." She stated. Then she shifted her eyes, trying to figure out where the blazes she was. It was a small room. A mirror on one wall, and there was a small clothing unit, and a door and the bed she was laying in. //Not bad arrangements. // She thought, then the door opened and a guff looking man with battle scars on his face, entered.  
  
"So, how wasted were we anyway?" Zam asked hoarsely, looking to the bed and at Jango's tunic she had on.  
  
Jango ignored the crack and said, "You were shot. You've been unconscious for a day and a half." He put a hand behind Zam's head and lifted it slightly, then held a glass of water to her lips, letting her drink. Once she had had enough, he lowered her head back onto the pillows and set the glass on the side table.  
  
"I guess I owe you one." Zam said.  
  
"Yah, you do." Jango replied, with no trace of a smile, as usual.  
  
"Where's Boba?" Zam asked.  
  
"In his room." Jango replied, then went on with a hint of a smile in his voice. "He keeps asking when you're going to wake up."  
  
Zam smiled, she had come to like young Boba Fett. He was a good kid.  
  
"I'll let you rest." Jango said, heading for the door.  
  
"Jango..."  
  
He turned, "What?"  
  
"Thanks."  
  
Jango nodded, then turned and left the room.  
  
*****  
  
Zam woke to the scent of warm food. When she glanced around, she saw Jango about to set a tray on the side table.  
  
"Breakfast in bed, how thoughtful of you." Zam teased.  
  
"It's dinner." Jango corrected, looking over at her.  
  
"Whatever." Zam fought to sit up, but with a stomach wound, it made it quite difficult  
  
and painful. Jango set the tray down, and propped her up with some pillows. He set the tray on her lap to let her eat.  
  
"You cook this?" Zam asked, indicating the meal.  
  
"I had it sent up." He answered.  
  
"Then I guess I *will* eat it." Zam smirked, taking a forkful.  
  
"I have to make sure my son is going to bed." Jango said, ignoring the jab.  
  
"Then will you come back and tuck me in too?" she asked cheekily.  
  
Jango's only response was to shut the door behind him.  
  
*****  
  
Zam tried to put the tray aside, but her stomach wound protested. Despite the bacta applied to the wound, it was still a bit painful, though it had healed significantly. Zam shifted her eyes, now able to see over the end of the bed. There, on the floor by the mirror, was the armor that transformed Jango Fett from man to bounty hunter. Zam wished she could go over and check out what features it was equipped with. That's when she realized that that meant the room she was in, and the bed she was sleeping in, was Jango's. Zam smiled, realizing he had given up his room for her, and hadn't just thrown her on the couch, as she would have expected. She looked out the window from where she lay, and saw it was rather dark, then again, it was always dark on rainy Kamino. Not for the first time, she wondered why in the universe the Jango had chosen this dreary place for a home.  
  
Zam was surprised when the door opened again. She had expected everyone to go to bed for the night.  
  
Jango entered to take her tray out. Zam reached out and laid a hand on his arm. "I stink at expressing gratitude, but if it had been anyone else after the same person as me, they would have left me there." Zam said quietly, looking up into Jango's dark eyes.  
  
Jango stared down at her for a minute, then broke the contact and put the tray on the cloths unit. He then went back to the bed and helped Zam lower herself. He took the extra pillow and put it on the other side of the bed. But before he could straighten up, Zam quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him towards her until their lips met. It was a short kiss, with hardly any participation on his side due to, Zam assumed, his surprise. She let him go and he slowly straightened up.  
  
"I hate to kick you out of your own bed two nights in a row. Why don't you stay here?" she suggested.  
  
"Zam..."  
  
"Look, the bed is big, and I'm injured, so I'm temporarily not dangerous." Zam explained with a wink. Jango hesitated. "Look, you left me alone in your room, trusting me not to touch your armor, yet alone snoop in your drawers, you obviously trust me a little."  
  
"You were shot and can barely move." Jango pointed out.  
  
"Ahh... are you forgetting I'm a Clawdite, Jango? A few feet between me and your possessions would hardly matter." She smiled wryly.  
  
Jango hesitated slightly before moving to the other side of the bed. He removed his boots, then climbed under the blankets.  
  
Zam turned her head to look at the man at her side, mere inches away. She reached a hand out beneath the covers and brushed his arm, causing him to turn his head to look back at her. She grinned at him and he in turn gave her a rare half smile in return. As painful as it was, she inched closer to him, bringing their sides into contact. Zam felt Jango stiffen, but as she reached over and took a hold of his hand, he relaxed a little.  
  
//Probably because he knows I'm not actually trying anything. // She mused.  
  
She knew it was dangerous for them to become attached, but she wasn't about to let this opportunity pass her by.  
  
Jango turned on his side, and tentatively wrapped an arm around her, just above her wound, his other hand still intertwined with hers.  
  
Zam turned her head, and saw his own extremely close to hers. She leaned over and kissed him lightly. "Goodnight Jango." She whispered.  
  
"Goodnight Zam." She heard the quiet response in her ear.  
  
*****  
  
Zam opened her eyes, and took a deep breath. She froze when she smelt the scent of a man. She turned her head a little and saw a dark haired head was sharing her pillow, and leaning against the side of her head. She reached her hand over and touched his face lightly. He took a deep breath and his eyes fluttered open.  
  
"Hey there, sleepy head. Sleep well?" she asked, withdrawing her hand. He grunted an affirmative. "Same here...though I did wake up once. You really should do something about your snoring." Jango narrowed his eyes at her, and she teasingly jabbed him with her elbow.  
  
"Boba should be up soon. I'd rather he didn't find me in here." He mumbled, pushing himself up.  
  
"If he's anything like you Jango, and seeing as how he's a clone of yours, I wouldn't doubt it, I bet he'll be doing this sort of thing himself in a few years."  
  
Jango scowled at her. "Keep in mind who's feeding you."  
  
"So long as it's not *your* cooking, I'll shut up." Zam grinned.  
  
"I thought so." Jango said, pulling on his boots and heading for the door.  
  
"Tell Boba to come visit sometime, I could use some 'friendly' company." Zam called as the door slid shut.  
  
****  
  
The door opened a while later and a young spitting image of Jango Fett entered. "Hi Zam." Boba greeted, bringing her a tray with a mid-day meal.  
  
"Hey Boba, come to keep me company?" Zam asked.  
  
"My dad said I could come see you today. How are you? Are you feeling better?"  
  
"Still a bit sore." She reported. Boba set the tray on the side table. "Have a seat." Zam offered, patting the bed. Boba climbed up onto it and studied her.  
  
"How did you get hurt?" the boy asked curiously.  
  
"Well, I was trying to find a lady, and when I got to her apartment, I saw your dad had beat me there. He was surprised I had shown up, and when his back was turned, blocking my view, the lady we thought was...upset, grabbed a blaster and shot me." Zam explained, trying not to go into too much detail.  
  
"Why was she upset?" Boba wanted to know.  
  
"I killed her boyfriend."  
  
"Oh. What type of blaster was it?" Zam chuckled at how Boba didn't even give a second thought to the fact she had killed someone. That's one of the reasons she liked the kid.  
  
"A DH-17. It was her boyfriends."  
  
"My dad's blasters are better." Boba stated simply.  
  
"Hey! What about mine?" Zam asked, pretending to be hurt.  
  
The boy laughed. "Yours too. How long are you gonna be here?"  
  
"Not sure kid. Either until I get better, or until I drive your dad insane. Whichever comes  
  
first." Zam grinned. "Speaking of whom, where is he?"  
  
"He went out. He told me he'd be back this evening for sure." Boba reported.  
  
"So I guess you'll be the one stuck with me today."  
  
"I don't mind." The young boy told her with a shy smile.  
  
"So Boba, have you heard the one about the space pirate and the Jedi?" Zam asked. Boba shook his head, so Zam told him the joke she had heard in a cantina a few weeks earlier. It was a good joke in her books, since it made the Jedi look like an idiot. Boba laughed afterwards, and Zam was pleased when she saw his eyes shining from laughing so hard.  
  
"I have one!" Boba said excitedly, once he could speak again. "A Jedi walked into a cantina...ouch!" Boba nearly fell over on the bed, laughing at his own joke. Zam laughed despite how it made her torso ache, and that it was an old joke, but Boba had replaced the original character with a Jedi.  
  
Zam picked at her meal as they kept talking, and offered Boba some as well.  
  
Late in the afternoon, the two were still talking and joking, when the door opened and in walked Jango Fett. "Why don't you see about a meal, son." he instructed, Boba nodded.  
  
"I'll see you later Zam." The boy said then hurried out of the room, grabbing the lunch tray on his way.  
  
Once the door swished closed, Jango went over to his armor and began tinkering with it. "Has he been pestering you all day?" the man asked, from where he knelt on one knee on the floor.  
  
"Nah, we enjoyed talking." Zam assured. She wondered where the other bounty hunter had been all day, but decided that in their shared profession, such questions were better left unasked.  
  
"How are you feeling?" Jango asked rather gruffly as if he'd prefer not asking.  
  
"Better. Still sore, but better." She answered, shifting a bit.  
  
"Have you been up?" he questioned.  
  
"Yes. But only to use the refresher."  
  
"Good." He stated simply. "I'll be back." He said, leaving the room.  
  
*****  
  
It was sometime after dinner that Boba stuck his head in and said goodnight to Zam, before going to bed, and a while after that, Jango entered. He was carrying some med. supplies. "I should change the bandage." He told her. She agreed and pulled the tunic up, revealing her stomach. She kept the blanket covering below her hips.  
  
First Jango removed the old bandage, then cleaned the skin around the wound before applying more bacta and covering it again. As he worked, he looked up at one point and found Zam grinning at him. "What?" he demanded.  
  
"Nothing." She lied, thinking how she herself could have re-dressed the wound, but Jango did it anyway. Zam reached her hand up and ran it through his hair. Jango's eyes looked piercingly into her own. He set the med. supplies on the clothing unit and went around the side of the bed, taking a seat on it. "Who said I want you in here?" Zam teased. "I don't know how much more of your snoring I can take!"  
  
Jango narrowed his eyes at her in annoyance as he removed his boots and slipped into the bed.  
  
"I guess I can always just push you off the bed if need be." Zam mused with a smirk as she shut off the light by her side of the bed, then turned on her side and faced Jango. She ran a finger over a scar on his face.  
  
"What are you doing?" he asked, in a tone that implied she was odd.  
  
"Trying to figure out how it is that, we have the same occupation, and you wear armor and I don't, yet you are the one with al the scars."  
  
"You're a Clawdite. You can probably cover them or something." He pointed out.  
  
"That's not for you to know." She said slyly.  
  
"Why do I put up with you." He said as more of a rhetorical question.  
  
"Oh, you like me and you know it. Life would be boring if I wasn't here to liven things up." Zam grinned. "And who would show your son how to have a little fun? He sure isn't about to learn it from the likes of you."  
  
"Boba needs to learn responsibility and how to be a bounty hunter." Jango replied.  
  
"Yes, but he's still a kid." Zam countered.  
  
"He plays sometimes." He insisted.  
  
"Okay!" she held up her hands in mock surrender. Then laid back down, and put her hand  
  
on Jango's shoulder. "This is strange. I'm used to living by myself, and now I've been around you and Boba constantly for a few days."  
  
"We've been on jobs longer that that, together." Jango pointed out.  
  
"Yah, but this is different. It's not work. It's... casual."  
  
"I suppose."  
  
"So tell me something about yourself that I don't know." Zam requested, shifting to get comfortable.  
  
"Zam..." Jango sighed exasperatedly.  
  
"Yes?" she asked expectantly, lifting her head to look at him.  
  
"Go to sleep." He ordered, raising a hand and pushing her head back down.  
  
"Oh, fine. Spoil sport." She huffed, but pushed herself up on her elbow again.  
  
"What?" Jango half groaned, half growled. Zam leaned over his face and lowered herself until their lips met. She wrapped the arm not holding her up, around the back of his head, and buried her fingers in his hair. Seconds later, Jango did the same, reaching up and wrapping his hand around the back of her head. Zam smiled a little, noting that he wasn't pushing her away. She moved to get even closer to him, but hissed and pulled away.  
  
"What's wrong?" Jango asked, his brow furrowed.  
  
"I told you I'm not dangerous." She said in explanation, pointing to her stomach where her wound was. She laid back, half on her side.  
  
Jango turned to face her. "Are you alright?"  
  
"Just sore when I press on it." She answered tiredly.  
  
"Does it hurt when something touches it?" he asked.  
  
"No. Not really." Se was surprised when he reached out and laid his hand lightly over the wound, and moved closer. Zam smiled and rested her arm on Jango's, rubbing it with her thumb.  
  
"G'night Jango." She whispered, closing her eyes and succumbing to the fold of sleep.  
  
*****  
  
The next morning Zam was feeling better so she decided to get up and move around a little. She wandered around the Fett's quarters, stretching her muscles. In all honesty, if she had been at her own place with this particular wound, she would have been up the day before, but since she was where she was, she decided to take advantage of it and enjoy being waited on.  
  
She sat down at the table with the father and son for a brunch. She and Boba joked together, and Jango put in the odd comment. When they were finished, she sat back in her chair and looked from one Fett to the other. "So, what did you do with my ship Jango?"  
  
"I had it stored somewhere safe." He answered.  
  
"How do I get to it?"  
  
"I'll take you." He stated.  
  
"Are you leaving us Zam?" Boba asked, sounding a little disappointed.  
  
Zam leaned towards the boy and in a stage whisper said, "If there's one thing I've learned, it's that I should get away from your dad just before he goes insane from having me around." She winked at Boba then straightened up. Boba laughed and Jango raised an eyebrow.  
  
"When will you leave?" Boba questioned.  
  
"May as well not prolong it. Jango, if you have nothing better to do, would you take me today?" she asked, turning from Boba to his father. Jango nodded.  
  
"Whenever you are ready." He offered.  
  
"I'll get dressed and we can go than." She planned.  
  
After giving Boba a hug goodbye, Zam and Jango left in the Slave 1. The planet was only a few hours away from Kamino. Zam forced Jango to talk a little, so they discussed their next jobs.  
  
Once the pair arrived at Barabi Jango took Zam to the spaceport he had had her ship docked at. They exited the Slave 1 and walked slowly.  
  
"Thanks for all you did." Zam said, looking towards her ship. "I'll keep in mind that I owe you one."  
  
"Two actually." Jango corrected. At Zam's confused frown, he added, "I could have just dropped you off at a med. center."  
  
Zam grinned. "I guess you're right. I better figure out a way to pay off my debts."  
  
They stopped half way to Zam's ship and she turned to the other bounty hunter. "It's been a kick. Take care of yourself Jango." Jango nodded once. Zam took a step towards him and pushed herself up on her toes, kissing him lightly. When she pulled away, she could have sworn that Jango was smirking. "Until next time..." Zam added, then turned and headed for her ship.  
  
The End...for now. ;) 


End file.
